Demonetisation, GST to make society tax compliant, says Arun Jaitley

GANDHINAGAR: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday termed the disruption caused by demonetisation as transient and said the move together with GST rollout will boost the Indian economy and make the “substantially” non tax-compliant society more compliant.

Speaking at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, Jaitley said the scrapping of high-value notes was a move to end the shadow economy.

To that end, he said, the government also renegotiated tax treaties+ with Mauritius, Cyprus and Singapore to end tax evasion and round tripping of funds.

“Obviously difficult decisions initially pass through difficult phases. Historic decisions which can have long term advantages for the country also have transient pains attached to them. But then in the medium and long term, they are going to change the roadmap on which the country is destined to move,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 8 announced+ the junking of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in the biggest step to fight black money, terror funding, corruption and counterfeit currency.

Jaitley said that while India aspires to evolve from a developing country to a developed nation and an economy that is making an impact globally+ with fastest growth rate, “we are substantially, in terms of taxation, a non-complaint society”.